ELERTS Showcases Smarter Mobile Emergency Communications

Date: 2011-05-10

With a litany of recent natural disasters and threats to public safety, the communication of emergency information – be it via federal alert systems or breaking information over social networks is top of mind. ELERTS, creators of an industry-first mobile platform for emergency notification that delivers critical information gathered from official sources and eyewitness reports, debuted as one of only a handful of companies worldwide selected to participate in the prestigious Ericsson Business Innovation Forum in Palo Alto, Calif.

The announcement was a highlight of the summit, an annual global event held this week in Palo Alto by the world’s largest mobile network gear provider. ELERTS is being highlighted as a prime example of how the urge to share information and collaborate with others – paired with access to powerful new mobile communication technologies and tools – will have a major impact on quality of life.

Founded by a deputy fire chief with 26 years of first responder experience, ELERTS is building a smartphone/tablet-based emergency alert system that turns citizens into assets for first responders – and gives first responders vastly better tools with which to communicate.

During his presentation, ELERTS Founder Chris Russo detailed his company’s vision for a mobile emergency alert system that turns citizens into assets for first responders. The ELERTS system transcends today’s norm of using unidirectional, content restrictive, Short Message Service (SMS) text alerts to cell phones. Vastly improving emergency response, it does so through enabling bidirectional communication between public safety organizations and those in harm’s way, via smartphones and tablets and by incorporating rich multimedia content from a range of sources – including NOAA, USGS, EPA’s RADNET and other official notification feeds. In addition, ELERTS allows citizens with the ELERTS app on their smartphones to capture and submit reports of emergencies that they witness.